Best SNL, Morgan Freeman Movies

First, I'll list the best movies featuring — in some cases, in minor roles — cast members of the original “Saturday Night Live.”

That means no Bill Murray, who arrived in the second year, or any of the other later SNL stars who went on to big film careers. Even so, this is a really good top 10.

I also was going to do a list combining the movies of Morgan Freeman and Samuel L. Jackson, two of my favorite actors. But when I started counting Freeman movies, I realized he made so many terrific ones that he should have his own list. So here it is. I’ll do Jackson another time.

I’m listing these by quality of movies rather than the quality of the Freeman performance, but he’s good in all of them.

Feel free to challenge my choices or to add one or more of your favorites starring SNL pioneers or Morgan Freeman.

Let’s go:

1. Taxi Driver — This Martin Scorsese/Robert DeNiro classic included Albert Brooks, whose short films were prominently featured in the first year of SNL.

2. Animal House — Bluto Blutarsky was the role John Belushi was born to play, and this movie led the way for a flood of National Lampoon comedies, none of them as good as this one.

3. Caddyshack — Iconic golf comedy starred Chevy Chase, although I thought he was one of the least funny characters, not to mention a bad-looking golfer.

4. Finding Nemo — Brooks played the fish father in search of his lost son in this classic animated feature.

5. Trading Places — Dan Ackroyd still was young and slim enough to play the romantic lead in this terrific comedy co-starring Eddie Murphy and Jamie Lee Curtis.

6. Christmas Vacation — It’s probably stupid to put this ahead of an Oscar-winner, but it’s one of my favorite movies, so sue me. Throw in the original "Vacation," also starring Chevy Chase, to give this choice extra weight.

7. Driving Miss Daisy — Ackroyd played Miss Daisy’s son in this Academy Award Best Picture.

8. Ghostbusters — Ackroyd again as a ghost-fighting sidekick. You’ll note that Murray ended up on this list a couple of times anyway.

9. The Last Detail — Classic Jack Nicholson performance as a foul-mouthed sailor — if you’ve never seen it, I encourage you to look for it — and it featured the film debut of Gilda Radner in a small role.

10. Manhattan — One of my favorite Woody Allen movies, although he hated it. Michael O’Donoghue was a cast member.

And now, Morgan Freeman:

1. Shawshank Redemption — IMDB users still have this rated as the best movie ever. I’m not prepared to go that far, but it's certainly top 100.

2. Unforgiven — Great Clint Eastwood Western won four Oscars, including Best Picture.

I liked "My Girl" where Anna Chlumsky plays a death obsessed 10 year old daughter of a widowed funeral director. Dad was SNL's Dan Ackroyd. Her best friend is Macaulay Caulkin, and a mom figure appears in the form a Jamie Lee Curtis.

Posted By: Lu | Jun 11, 2010 12:55:47 PM

That would be No. 9 if I hadn't cheated to slip in a couple of different movies that I like but have very minor connections to SNL.

Posted By: bill white | Jun 11, 2010 12:56:03 PM

I'm talking about Blues Brothers, not My Girl. Lu slipped a second Comment in there while I was responding to the first.

Posted By: bill white | Jun 11, 2010 12:57:28 PM

Hey - I ain't afraid of no ghost - I loved Ghostbusters!!

Posted By: Bev | Jun 11, 2010 1:00:26 PM

Morgan Freeman is so good, I feel like the Visa commercials for which he does voice overs deserve Oscar nominations.

Posted By: Robby | Jun 11, 2010 1:13:58 PM

On the other end of the ledger for Morgan Freeman is Bruce Almighty and its sequel Evan Almighty and Bucket List. Every actor has bad movies usually in his list but he seems to have avoided too many stinkers...

The list of bad SNL movies is too long...

Posted By: Doug-H | Jun 11, 2010 3:50:30 PM

I didn't think Bruce Almighty was bad.

Posted By: bill white | Jun 11, 2010 4:14:13 PM

Agree with Shawshank Redemption at #1, but Glory should be #2, (maybe cause I'm fascinated with a war not so long ago and not so far away) M.F. was awesome.

Posted By: Rose | Jun 12, 2010 1:22:26 AM

Taxi Driver was a great movie, but having it at the top of an SNL-based list just seems wrong since Michael O’Donoghue had a bit part. Animal House is the clear #1. If you are including Taxi Driver, shouldn't you include Wall Street as well? Also: did you consider Terms of Endearment? Lost in America? Broadcast News? Mother? Defending Your Life? Heck, let's even throw in The Simpsons Movie. All are better than Finding Nemo which came in at #4?!. I guess Albert Brooks should take the prize as the most successful post-SNL actor. I'll admit I had forgotten about his short movies on SNL

Posted By: drphil | Jun 12, 2010 6:06:47 AM

The Blues Brothers also contained most of the band from the original Saturday Night live.
Who could forget Cab Calloway as the Janitor, and I loved the nun/Penguin! You never saw her feet move, she just floated!

Posted By: Chris Casey | Jun 12, 2010 5:45:45 PM

I loved Freeman in Shawshank and in Glory, two really great movies. Enjoyed Invictus, having spent parts of 1981 and 1982 in South Africa. Freeman did a good job as Mendela, but the film was not as good as I thought it would be. The country was filled with tensions, and Sringboks Rugby didn't save or unify the country as the movie seems to imply. It does, however, demonstrate Freeman's capability to play various roles.

Posted By: marc grammes | Jun 13, 2010 1:35:11 PM

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